Mystery's Daughter
by Lailara
Summary: Clark's cousin comes to Smallville and brings some surprises and learns some secrets. **Slash!** CLex!


Title: Mystery's Daughter  
Author: AriellaGiselle  
Rating: PG-13; a dirty word or two here and there.  
Distribution: LexSlash, my site, fanfiction.net, anyone who has previous permission; anyone else, all you have to do is ask.  
Pairing: Clark/Lex  
Summary: When Clark's cousin comes for a visit, she learns a few secrets and brings a few surprises to Smallville.  
Author's notes: Thanks to Kel for letting me bounce this idea off of her for a while.  
Disclaimer: I own Corazon Danyel de Netri, and that's it. Everything else belongs to DC, the WB, and probably a few others I don't know about.  
  
*****  
  
Lex entered the Talon, feeling better than he had in days. Stock was up, his father had gone back to Metropolis, and he was once again alone to do as he pleased. That was a lie; what he would rather do was not only illegal in the state of Kansas and the entire country, but most likely would rate a stoning in this town. These thoughts of a certain young friend normally brought any good mood down, but he wasn't about to let them bother him today.   
  
A waving hand caught his attention, and Lex smiled at his friend. Clark sat on a couch with a large cappuccino resting on the appropriately named coffee table in front of him. Across from the raven-haired youth was a girl. A girl with red hair. Red hair like his mother's. Lex's heart dropped into his stomach and he fought to keep from running over to meet this stranger.  
  
He sauntered lazily over to the pair, extending his hand in greeting to the young woman. "Lex Luthor, miss."  
  
"I know." She glanced up and smiled an all-knowing smile. "Corazon. Corazon de Netri," she said, standing, but not shaking his hand. Her long, red hair fell down in waves down to her hips. "How are you, Mr. Luthor?"  
  
"Lex, this is the cousin I was telling you about. Cora, play nice now," teased Clark as he raised his cup to sip the foam from the coffee. Corazon once again took her seat and drank her espresso shot in one gulp. Setting the cup on the table, she smiled at Clark, then turned her attention to Lex.  
  
"Cora, lovely. How are you enjoying your stay in our fair hamlet?" Lex asked, motioning to their waitress to bring his "usual."  
  
"Corazon. And fine, thank you, Mr. Luthor." Sharp blue eyes held his, and he felt the world drop away. She was enchanting him, stripping bare all his defenses, seeing through him as though he were transparent. Lex closed his eyes and coughed. "Very interesting town you have here, Clark," she said. Corazon stood and looked around the room for a moment. Spying what she'd been searching for, she motioned toward the back. "I'll be right back. Excuse me. It was a...pleasure to meet you, Mr. Luthor."  
  
"Call me Lex," he voiced numbly. Lex watched her walk away, wondering what kind of strange power this girl could have to terrify him so. "What a family you've got, Kent." his voice held not a little bit of sarcasm.  
  
Clark laughed. Gods, how Lex loved that laugh. "She's my mom's sister's daughter. Just in for a few days from New Orleans. Apparently she's on her way to LA to be a singer or something."  
  
Lex smirked and took a drink from his recently-delivered coffee. "She's...different," he said simply.  
  
The younger of the duo chuckled again, "That's for sure, man. She's always been like that. She's so serious one minute, then she's gone. Don't ask how she does it; you probably don't want to know."  
  
*****  
  
"Clark?" Cora looked up from her needle and thread to find her cousin. She was a curious creature by nature, and her suspicions were eating her up. It was time to get some answers.  
  
After a few moments of waiting, she called for him again, this time garnering a muffled, "Hmm?" from several feet below her. Leaning over the edge of the loft, she looked down at him carrying a rather large bale. He tossed it over into a corner of the barn and glanced up at her. "What did you need, Cora?"  
  
"I was just thinking about something," she said, a grin curving her thin lips.   
  
"That's never good, Cor. Give me a second, and I'll come up there. I could use the break anyhow." The boy wiped his hands on an oil-soiled rag and tossed it into a bin by the door of the barn. Taking the stairs two at a time, he flopped down on the couch next to Cora, who smiled almost nervously. "Now, what were you thinking about, Miss Devious?"  
  
The redhead blushed and laughed at the pet name; it had been too long since he had called her that, and she had to admit -- even if only to herself -- that she'd missed it. "Well, Mister Mischievious, I was thinking about your friend, Mr. Luthor. He's quite...different, isn't he?"  
  
Clark grinned. "Yeah, that's one word for it. Others would include filthy rich and eccentric, but we won't label." His eyes held a gentle affection for the man in question, and try as she might, Corazon couldn't bring down his defenses to get to the heart of the matter; Clark had always been the one person in the world that she had trouble reading. Sometimes, when he was relaxed enough, she could catch a few ideas, stray thoughts, really, but most of the time, he was incredibly guarded. "He's different, because he can afford to be, I guess. He's still my friend, money or no money, Cor."  
  
"No, that's not what I'm saying, Clark. I think it's good that you've got this friend, but I'm just wondering..." she allowed her voice to trail off, letting her last syllable hang in the air without resolution.  
  
His steely blue eyes scrutinized her carefully. "Wondering...?" he mimicked. What was she getting at? Would she ever get to her point? If she was true to Corazon form, no, she would just let that be that. But Clark couldn't let it just go; he had to find out what she knew about Lex.  
  
She looked at him, that same omnipotent smile gracing her plain, but still pretty features. "Wondering how deep this 'friendship' goes. I know a few things about him, but I know nothing about you." Her slightly slanted eyes closed as she heaved a sigh. "So, Clark, how *do* you feel about him?"  
  
Clark just stared at her for a moment. Did she know? How could she know? Hell, I don't even know, he thought. "What? He's Lex. My friend. And that's all, I guess. We hang out and talk, and I save his life once in a while, and we're cool. That's just it."   
  
Cora giggled, "No, that's not just it. Clark, how do you *feel* about him? How does *he* make *you* feel?" She allowed her mind to drift back, back to what she'd seen when she'd studied Lex's face. She'd seen love. Not that friendly, "How ya doin', pally?" kind of love, but pure, unadulterated, needy love. Love directed at her young cousin. Her young, *male* cousin.   
  
"How do *I* make *him* feel, Corazon? And I know you know. You wouldn't be doing this whole twenty questions if you didn't know." Clark allowed a small scoffing laugh to escape his lips. "You're worse than Ryan, ya know? Teasing me with things that only you could understand. Telling me that you know something, but you aren't going to tell me unless I ask for it. You know how it goes. You show me yours and I'll show you mine, Corazon Danyel de Netri."  
  
"You make him feel...amazing. No," she paused, closing her eyes, a wistful smile crossing her face, "*real,* Clark Jonathan Kent. You make him feel real."  
  
"What?" he asked incredulously, his face screwed up in a confused look. "What are you talking about, Miss Devious?"  
  
"I'm talking about love, Mister Mischievious! Love! Lex loves you! Sheesh!" She punctuated her last words with her hands, tossing them up in the air, allowing the needlepoint she'd been working on to fall to the floor. "I knew you were thick, but I had no clue, Clark!"  
  
"Loves me? You're pulling my leg, Cor! He's about as straight as they come!" Clark stood and paced around the room. His mind felt as though it would implode. Lex loves me? he thought dazedly. Love? L-o-v-e, love? No, he was sure she was mistaken.  
  
"Yeah, he's as straight as they come, if carpenter's squares were straight, Clark. He's no more hetero than you are, man." That earned her a pointed glare and an open mouth, ready to protest. She held up her hand before he could even start in on a defense. "Shush, I know these things, Clark. I don't have to be a freakin' psychic to figure out some things, all right? Give me a little credit, hmm?" She grinned at his mock-hurt look. "You maybe thick-headed, but you sure are transparent when it comes to matters of the heart. You love him, too."   
  
He opened his mouth to argue, thought better of it and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I do."   
  
"Tell him, then! Stop pussy-footin' around and tell him! You won't be disappointed!"  
  
"I can't, Cora. He's not..."  
  
"Not what? Not of your class? Not in your league? Believe me, I know things about Lex Luthor that would make you blush. He wants this, Clark. Just tell him."  
  
Clark paced around the room a few more times, pausing once or twice to glare at her. "Fine, you want me to tell him, I will. I'll be back in a little while, Cora, and you better be here when I get back."  
  
With that, the farmboy turned and bounded down the stairs. The left-behind red-haired girl chuckled softly to herself. "I'll be here, don't worry you about that, Clark."  
  
*****  
  
Inhale, exhale, inhale exhale, Clark thought. His hand came up and rapped gently on the door. To his surprise, and quite of the ordinary, for sure, Lex opened the door.  
  
*****  
  
Lex rolled on his side to face Clark, who was sleeping peacefully under the black silk sheets on the millionaire playboy's bed. That face, those lips, those eyes, the killer cheekbones; Lex loved it all. God, I'm turning into such a mush in my old age, he thought.   
  
The evening had gone well, decidedly well. Clark's arrival had been a little unexpected, but not unwelcomed. Clark's confession had also been unexpected, but equally welcomed. They'd kissed and touched, until Lex couldn't stand it and asked Clark if he was ready for more. To his surprise, the young man had been eager to be with Lex.   
  
They'd made love. The thought weighed heavily on Lex's mind. Made love. It was really such an odd phrase, but such pleasurable feelings arose from it, that Lex couldn't be bothered to care how odd it was.  
  
"The best things in life are free," he murmured, "and odd."  
  
*****  
  
Corazon sat in the loft for a few hours after Clark left, wondering if he would really come back. She doubted it, but enjoyed the time alone with her needlepoint.  
  
"Mission accomplished, Cora. Not bad at all," she said with a satisfied smile. She ran down the stairs, out of the barn, and back into the house. Packing all her belongings, Cora kissed Martha lightly on the cheek, begging her forgiveness for leaving so suddenly, but it couldn't be helped.   
  
There was a bus leaving Smallville for Metropolis in an hour, and she wanted to be on it. Tomorrow, she would go to LA and become the singer her mother had always believed she would become. She thanked Jonathan for the ride to town, declining the offer, and ran down the road, whooping and hollering as she passed Lex's mansion. "Now, that's what I call fun!" she shouted, knowing that God and the whole country could hear her, and not caring. "Have a great time, Mister Mischievious! And you're welcome!"  
  
*****  
  
FIN~ 


End file.
